One day, when I was walking on the Wissahickon Trail by Wissahickon High School to visit the abandoned Orthodox Friends Meeting cemetery along Penllyn Pike, I came across the huge mansion standing at the corner of Penllyn Pike and Dager Road, now occupied by Bethlehem Baptist church. I was astonished to see it in front of my eyes.
I never even thought about doing research on this old mansion until I found out who owned and built the place.
The Fleck Land, Part 2
We discussed earlier about the Fleck Land, where Wawa is currently located. Now, we'll discuss the west side of Bethlehem Pike opposite of Wawa.
Last time, I talked about the main ancestor, Conrad Fleck (1708-1767), who purchased land from William John, one of the original settlers of Gwynedd in 1698. After he passed away, his eldest son Johann (Adam) Fleck (1739-1820) came into possession of his father's land and built a large barn in 1778.
During his ownership, the land began to divide with various purchases from local residents, including 67 acres bought from Isaac Davis. In his will, he stated that his children will be the next owners of his land.
"I give to my sons, Jacob and Daniel, the following properties: The 140 acres which was devised to me by my father, Conrad Fleck; fourteen acres, which I hold by deed from James Roney; about 91 acres which I hold by deed from Jesse and Levi Foulke, as guardians of Robert Davis; about four acres which I hold from _____ Kaoley, and so much of the plantation which I hold by deed from Isaac Davis which is enclosed in a field occupied by my son Jacob, containing eight acres, all of which several tracts I devise to my sons, Jacob and Daniel. My son Daniel shall have that part at present in his possession, and my son Jacob shall have the premises he at present occupies, and where I now reside. I give my remaining tract of land, adjoining the other, which my son Adam (now deceased) did occupy, to Hannah, his widow, until her son Samuel is 21 years old."
- Adam Fleck's will (1820)
For a long time, the land given by Adam Fleck belonged to his namesake son, Adam Fleck (1777-1815). As mentioned in his will, the tract of land was passed on to his widow Hannah until their son Samuel Fleck (1804-1889) took it over at age 21. He was in a militia in the War of 1812 to defend the city of Philadelphia and entered camp in Marcus Hook.
When Samuel became 21, he became the official owner of his father's tract. He was responsible for building the barn in 1851 and the homestead 6 years later. He lived there for a very long time until it was passed on to his widow Abigail and son Samuel, II. His son Samuel was the last to live in the family homestead until selling it in 1903. He sold three tracts to William B. Churchman (1844-1911), two to William O.B. Merrill (1811-1896), two to Harry A. Markoe (1845-1929), and 14 acres to Henry B. Coxe, II (1863-1930) whom we will discuss later.
Focusing on the small tract owned by William B. Churchman, it seems that Churchman rented his property out since the mid 1890s, and decided to sell it to Henry B. Coxe, II in 1905. Cox made major changes to the property.
Fun Fact #1: During World War I, Henry B. Coxe, II used his farm as a "great war garden."
The Coxe Family and the Anthracite Business
With all the money he had, Henry B. Coxe built his country estate in Penllyn on Penllyn Pike where most of the Philadelphia elites lived. But where did the money come from?
It all started with Daniel Coxe, MD (1640-1730), a prominent English physician who became a practitioner to King Charles II and to Queen Anne. His interest in the New World began in 1684 when he was granted a large tract of land in West Jersey and later East Jersey. In 1687, Dr. Daniel was appointed governor of West Jersey after the death of its first governor, Edward Byllynge. It wasn't until he officially decided to sail to the New World in 1690.
NOTE: You can visit his home, the Coxe Hall Cottage, in Cape May, NJ!
His son Colonel Daniel Coxe (1673-1739) came to the New World in 1701 and lived at his father's estate in New Jersey. While living in the New World, he became involved in military affairs, earning him the title, "Colonel." He then became the first provincial grand master of the Free Masons of the middle colonies in 1730
Fun Fact #2: Col. Daniel Coxe wrote a piece in 1722 titled A Description of the English Province of Carolana, by the Spaniards Call'd Florida, and by the French La Louisiane. as Also of the Great and Famous River Meschacebe, or Mississippi.
The first Coxe member to arrive in Philadelphia was son William Coxe (1723-1801). He pursued the mercantile business, and became a leading merchant in the city. He then was to elected to public office as a common councilman in 1751. He then went to advance to the board of alderman in 1757. A year later, on October 4, 1758, he was elected Mayor of Philadelphia, but he refused the position. He even denied the nomination of mayor four years later.
He served during the French and Indian War under the leadership of Captain Charles Batho in his Independent Company of Foot, organized in Philadelphia.
Following in his father's footsteps, Tench Coxe (1755-1824) was involved in politics, and became a Pennsylvania delegate in the Continental Congress in 1788.
In his early years, Tench was involved in his father's mercantile business, and ran it successfully. Later on, he became interested in politics.
During the American Revolutionary War, he was a Loyalist. He even escorted General William Howe into the city of Philadelphia! He was eventually arrested by Washington's troops, but was paroled. He went from a Loyalist to becoming a member of the Whig party, embracing the American cause. As a result, he became a delegate of the United States Continental Congress in 1788 and his political career began to gain traction.
Fun Fact #3: He was the first to introduce the Arkwright machine in the United States and influenced the South to use it to process cotton.
NOTE: You can read his letters to and from the Founding Fathers, including Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson.
Instead of becoming a politician, his son Charles S. Coxe (1791-1879) joined the Philadelphia bar in 1812 after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania and Brown University (with gratiae causa). After attaining a high rank in his profession as a lawyer in the Philadelphia bar, Charles was appointed District Attorney of Philadelphia. Then he was commissioned as associate judge of the District Court of Philadelphia.
He was committed to keep together the large coal lands his father Tench inherited in the northeastern part of PA (read more about this HERE). Hence, in 1865, his sons (mostly Alexander B. Coxe and Henry B. Coxe (1841-1904)) devoted themselves into maintaining the family coal land, naming themselves the Coxe Brothers & Company.
Continuing his family's footsteps, Henry B. Coxe, II (1863-1930) continued to oversee family's coal interests until his death in 1930. He succeeded his father as a trustee of both the estates of his uncle Eckley B. Coxe and aunt Rebecca Coxe with the Girard Trust Company as the co-trustee. Henry's son, Henry B. Coxe, III (1898-1961), was an attorney for his family with the coal lands in Luzerne and Carbon counties after his father died.
"The land was entirely unproductive ; the amount of annual taxes was large ; squatters and timber-thieves had to be kept off: and many adverse titles, arising from tax-sales, conflicting surveys, etc., had to be settled by compromise or litigation. His [Charles'] policy was to make every sacrifice to retain the coal- land, and to secure means for this purpose by selling outlying farms and timber-tracts. He knew every corner and line of the property, having personally traced them all on the ground; and possessing a good knowledge of the geology of the region, he spent every summer in determining by shafts and borings, the boundaries of the coal-basins."
- Frank Willing Leach (36)
Haffod's Architecture
The Haffod mansion was built in 1906 for Henry B. Coxe, II as his country home. Based on the size of the former home, it is huge! The front facade has a colonial-inspired look, making it appear as a Colonial revival-style building. Notable features on the property can easily be seen: the hipped roof and dormers.
Fun Fact #4: The term "Haffod" is Welsh for "House in the Field." Very fitting :)
In 1974, the Beth Or Synagogue purchased the former Coxe mansion, and added a new section onto the former. In 2000, the Bethlehem Baptist Church moved from their original location on Penllyn and Trewellyn avenues to this location where it currently operates.
The architect responsible for the renovations of the home was Philadelphia architect Horace Trumbauer. He was know to built extravagant homes for wealthy Philadelphians, and buildings in Philadelphia like the Union League of Philadelphia Annex and the Jenkintown-Wyncote Train Station.
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